ANATOMY OF A JOKE
No single item from such a list could possibly be wholly representative, but for a look at the “new and special manner” and its implications, the Quartet in E-flat major, op. 33, no. 2 is a reasonable choice. It sports a rather coarse nickname, “The Joke,” in English; but since the joke in question is the quartet’s ending gesture, a particularly well-aimed stroke of wit based entirely on the sending of a false “introversive” signal, the nickname arises directly out of the compositional strategies that are of interest to us now. Observing them minutely for a while will amply repay the effort it will cost by heightening sensitivity to the kind of significant detail that Kenner und Liebhaber prize. The discussion that follows must be read with the score close at hand. The first movement’s exposition, which will be given an especially close analysis, is shown in Ex. 10-6a.
- Citation (MLA):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 10 Instrumental Music Lifts Off." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2024. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-div1-10010.xml>.
- Citation (APA):
- Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 10 Instrumental Music Lifts Off. In Oxford University Press, Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries. New York, USA. Retrieved 8 Dec. 2024, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-div1-10010.xml
- Citation (Chicago):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 10 Instrumental Music Lifts Off." In Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 8 Dec. 2024, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-div1-10010.xml